After our time in Scotland (which you can read about here, here and here), we made our way over to France. I was really looking forward to our time in Bordeaux, which is basically the Napa Valley of France! We spent four days touring the region, soaking in as much wine and information as possible. I wasn’t at all disappointed – it was grapevines as far as the eye can see, and a new winery around every corner!
Our first day we spent exploring Saint Emilion, which is so picturesque! I kept saying that I felt like I was in a French dream!
Of course, we had to stop in a cafe for breakfast since it was our first day in France. It was all I could do to pause for this photo before taking a chomp out of one of those croissants!
On our second day, we visited Château Ambe Tour Pourret . We mostly drink Washington wine at home, and it was so interesting to taste the comparison. We aren’t experts (yet!), but we’ve learned that generally speaking French wines are made to age, and American wines are made to drink now. It was definitely interesting to taste a lot more tannin and acid in the wine compared to what we’re used to at home.
I loved that at Château Ambe Tour Pourret we got to do a wine tasting with either a cheese or chocolate pairing. It was so interesting how the different wines brought out different tastes in the chocolate, and how the chocolate brought out new tastes in the wine!
After our taste of chocolate and wine, we took a glass to enjoy outside in their cute garden area. They had lawn chairs set up in the lawn, and it was seriously perfect! We made some new friends from Sweden, and really enjoyed just relaxing and savoring the moment.
The next day we made our way to the Medoc region, and visited Château Lafon-Rochet.
This was definitely my favorite winery we visited! The wine was out of this world delicious, our tour was really informative, and the château is, as you can see, beautiful!
If you’re planning a trip to Bordeaux, definitely pay Château Lafon-Rochet a visit.
Our next visit was to Château Lamothe Bergeron where I determined it necessary to twirl in front of the Chateau haha. When in Bordeaux, right?
What made this stop special is that they offer a tasting of sweet and savory macarons paired with their different wines. That was a really unique experience, and I learned so much about wine and food pairings!
On the last day of our whirlwind Bordeaux tour, we visited Château Castera.
It was really fun to explore their beautiful property, and luckily it was early enough that it wasn’t too hot in the grape vines!
The entire trip Charlotte was really interested in my hat and sunglasses, and she loved being able to play with them! This photo of her with my hat in the grape vines is one of my favorites! That girl cracks me up.
Jordan and I really enjoyed the time in Bordeaux, and the whole time were taking notes of what we loved, and what we can’t wait to try next time!
We have a few different bottles from our trip with the dates the winemaker recommends for them to be opened written on each of them. In French, the word “souvenir” means “to remember”, and I can’t think of a better way to remember our time in Bordeaux than to share a bottle of amazing wine!
After Bordeaux, we made our way to Poitiers where my sister and brother-in-law live, and spent a few days relaxing and regrouping which was really crucial for the Parisian days ahead.